Lighting designers typically evaluate the quality of a recessed light fixture based on how well the recessed fixture blends into a ceiling and how well the recessed fixture controls glare from a light source. Ideally, lighting designers prefer a “quiet” ceiling in which light is emitted without the recessed fixture and/or light source being noticeable. In other words, the ceiling should be free of concentrated light spots (i.e., “hot spots”) that are produced by the recessed fixtures mounted in the ceiling.
Traditional light sources include incandescent, high-intensity discharge (HID), and compact-fluorescent (CFL) light sources, all of which emit light in all directions (i.e., non-directional light beam). To direct the non-directional light beam down from and out of a recessed fixture, lighting manufacturers have traditionally designed reflectors using a parabolic shape, which is intended to focus the non-directional light beam toward an illuminated target (e.g., a floor surface).
Rapid advancements in light-emitting diode (“LED”) technology have caused manufacturers to replace the traditional light sources with LED light sources, which are inherently directional light sources. However, the manufacturers have continued using traditional reflectors (e.g., parabolic-shaped reflectors) to minimize glare and to provide a “quiet” ceiling. The combination of LED light sources with traditional reflectors fails to provide optimal lighting results.
A hyperbolic reflector has been designed for use with a LED light source in a recessed light fixture to eliminate concentrated light spots. One installation approach involves connecting the hyperbolic reflector to a mounting ring using a chemical adhesive, such as glue, and then mounting the connected components into an optic housing with the LED light source. However, the use of adhesives in connecting the hyperbolic reflector to the mounting ring can result in the LED light source being slightly off-center or misaligned relative to the upper opening, and thus, also the bottom opening (also referred to as the reflector aperture) of the reflector, when the reflector is mounted in the optic housing. A minor deviation in the alignment between the LED light source and the reflector aperture can result in a significant efficiency drop and undesirable light pattern variance in the operation of the recessed light fixture. These lighting problems become more pronounced when several of these types of recessed light fixtures are installed side by side, with one or more of them having alignment variations between their LED light source and reflector aperture that exceed acceptable tolerances.